Printed circuit contact receptacles



Nov. 3, 1959 A. JACKSON ETAL 2,911,612

PRINTED CIRCUIT CONTACT RECEPTACLES Filed Jan. 26, 1956 m M 3 l w 0%. m WWW wmwmg WM T k 3 ATTORNEY.

United States Patent v 2,911,612 I PlI INTED CIRCUITCONTACTRECEPTACLES Anton Jackson,Queens Village, and Boris A. Jackson,

Valley Stream, N.Y. Application January 26, 1956, Serial No. 561,543

7 Claims. ,(Cl. 339-476) This invention relates to receptaclesfor use in conii'lnctionwith what are known as printed circuit-connectors. More particularly, the invention deals with a receptacle", and connector construction, wherein the receptacle is made sufiiciently deep to completelyjhouse the connectors, thereby establishing contact of Circuit with which the circuit wires are adapted to be coupled within boundaries of the receptacle. 4

The novel features of the invention will be best understood from'the followingdescripti'on, when taken together with the accompanying drawing, in which certain embodiments of the invention are disclosed and, in which, the separate parts are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the VieWs 'and, in which:

Fig. 1 is a broken plan view of'a receptacle made according to our invention,-illustrat-ing a series often tacts therein" and omitting part of the background I showing. V r

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of a small portion of the receptacle showing the lower openings.

Fig.- 3 is a partialsection through a receptacle, substantially on the'line 3-3 of Fig. l on a reduced scale.

Fig. 4 isa sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 3 on an enlarged scale, also indicating a circuit wirecoupled with a contact; and

Big. 5 is a side view of one of the contacts'detached.

In practice, we provide an elongated receptacle 10 of any suitable insulating material, preferably qmoulded plastic, which is moulded to form a longitudinal channel 11 opening through the upper surface'of the connector for reception of a printed circuit connector having con tacts on opposed surfaces thereof for engagement with contacts arranged on opposed sides of the'channel. '11, as partially indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

The channel 11 has opposed recesses 12, which are sub-divided by intermediate rib portions '13; the walls of the channel 11, including the rib, portions13, are beveled, as seen at 14, for guidance 05a printed circuit connector into the channel 1t. The recesses 12 extend into openings or apertures 15 at the lower portion of the connector, the latter being divided by a central partition wall l6, which wall is of the irregular cross-sectional contour, as noted in Fig. 2 of the drawing. The irregularityof the wall 16 forms, in the apertures 15,'corner portions 17 which are oppositely arranged on opposed apertures, so as to strengthen the central portion of the connector as'much as possible.

At the. upper portion of the partition-wall 16 is a iota I t tudinal central wall portion 18, which is enlarged with respect to the partition 16 proper to form shoulder s .19. At the ,top of the wall 18 isa reduced raised wall portion 20, which forms other stop shoulders 21. It will be apparent, however, that. the thickness, or transversedimensions, of the 'wall 18 issuch ,as to provide clear passage of the lower split tubular portion 22 of a contact 23 upwardly through the apertures 15, as fwell as the recesses 12, or downwardly therethrough in the assemblage of the contacts with the receptacle. i

. One of the contacts 23 'is shown in detail in Fig. 5 of the drawing and also insectional detail in Fig. 4. The lower tubular portion 22 is in the form of a split tube, having the split substantially centrally of the tube so as @to dispose an otfset sprin'glcatch 24 at one side of the tube 22. It will be noted that the tube 22 is combed upwardly to a slight extent as to provide therein a' conical bore 25,:into'whicha circuit wire 26 can be-forcibly moved in establishing a firmand positive electrical connection with the contact." It will be understood that, as the wire 26 is moved upwardly, the split conical tube is sprung outwardly. The wire 26, at any time, can be forcibly withdrawn from the contact It will be apparent, from the foregoing description, that the contact 23 is made from a single sheet of metal, which is die cut and then shaped to form the lower, conical, tubular end 22, as well as. the other parts of the contact, as now described. l

t. The contact, adjacent the upper contracted 'end' 27 of ,the tube 22, has a pair of stop arms 28, which are arranged in substantially parallel relationship to each other and these arms are adapted to seat "upon the should'ei's 21 in checking downward assemblage 'movement'of the a contact with :the receptacle;

, Extending. upwardly from the arms. 28,the contact hasa spring contact member 29, the member including a rounded central portion 30, which normally extends into .tlie'channe'l 11, as clearly noted in- Fig. 4 of the drawing,

with the free end 31 of the contact arranged in the recess 12, but in spaced relation to the outer wall of the recess.

It will, thus, be seen that, upon insertion of a printed circuit connector into the channel 11, this connector is free to pass over the rounded portion 30, in which operation,. the spring member 29 is flexed outwardly, suflicient clearance being provided for movement of the end 31 outwardly, thus establishing a firm contact engagement with a circuit on the surface of the printed connector. Inward movement of thefprinted connector is checked by the extension20. Y I I :By reason. of the fact that the spring catches 24 are located at one side of the tubular portion 22, in arrang ing-the 'contacts in the opposed recesses, these spring catches will be in opposite relationship to each other and will clear the corner portions 17, as diagrammaticallyindicated in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

As above stated, in assembling a contact with the receptacle, the contact is moved downwardly through a recess 12. The tubular portion 20 then passes, at one side of the wall 18, and down into the aperture 15 and this downward movement-is checked by the arms 28 striking the shoulder 21 At this instant, the spring 'catch;24' springs 3 and force this catch out of engagement with the shoulder 19;" whereupon, the contact can be withdrawn from the receptacle through the top thereof. This is desirable from a standpoint of changing receptacles, particularly in positioning contacts in different recesses or apertures of the receptacle, so as to match or fit circuit printings'of printed circuit connectors of any type or kind. In other words, the spring contacts of the receptacles can be changed from time to time for the purposes defined.

For simplification of the illustration, part of the background showing of the receptacle in Fig. 1 has been omitted for sake of clarity, as the actual structure of the central partition, including the walls 18 and 20, is noted in the cross-sectional view of Fig. 4.

For purposes of description, the'receptacle may be said to comprise a body of insulating material, having opposed chambers opening through upper and lower ends of the body, the chambers being divided by ribs longitudinally of the receptacle and by the longitudinal channel 11 at the upper portion of the receptacle and, further, defined by thepartition 16 and walls 18 and 20 at the lower and central portion of the receptacle, the wall 18 having shoulders checking movement of contacts in both direc- Having fully described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A contact receptacle for use in connection with printed circuit connectors, said receptacle comprising an elongated body of insulating, material, the bodyhaving longitudinally spaced opposed chambers extending through the receptacle and opening through upper and lower surfaces of said body, the chambers-being divided longitudinally of the receptacle by longitudinally-spaced ribs, the

chambers, atthe upper portion of the receptacle, being divided by a .longitudinal channel, into which a printed circuit connector is adapted to be placed, the lower-portion ofthe chambers being divided by a partition wall extending to the bottom of thereceptacle and terminating at its upper end in an enlarged wall portion disposed centrally of the receptacle, said enlarged wall portion forming upper and lower stop shoulders exposed to op- .posed chambers of the receptacle and spaced from outer Walls of said chambers, spring contacts adapted to be mounted in said chambers, said contacts having spring contact ends extending into the channel at the upperpportion of the receptacle, means including a yieldable catch for engaging the shoulders of said enlarged wall portion to retain the spring contacts against displacement from the receptacle, that part of the. contact disposed in the lower portion of the chamber having means of which said yieldable catch constitutes a part, within boundaries of the receptacle, for establishing firm electrical contact engagement with a circuit wire coupled therewith, said last named means comprising a split tube, and said yieldable catch being integral with said split tube.

2. A contact receptacle for use in connection with printed circuit connectors, said receptacle comprisingan elongatedbody of insulating material, the body having longitudinally spaced opposed chambers extending through the receptacle and opening through upper and lower surfaces of said body, the chambers being divided longitudinally of the receptacle by longitudinally spaced ribs, the chambers, at the upper portion of the receptacle, being divided by a longitudinal channel, into which a printed circuit connector is adapted to be placed, the lower portion of the chambers being divided by a partition wall extending to the bottom of the receptacle and terminating at its upper end in an enlarged wall portion disposed centrally of the receptacle, said enlarged wall portion forming upper and lower stop shoulders exposed to opposed r 4 i. chambers of the receptacle and spaced from outer walls of said chambers, spring contacts adapted to be mounted in said chambers, said contacts having spring contact ends extending into the channel at the upper portion of the receptacle, means including a yieldable catch for engaging the shoulders of said enlarged wall portion to retain the spring contacts against displacement from the receptacle, that part of the contact disposed in the lower portion of the chamber having means of which said yieldable catch constitutes a part, within boundaries of the receptacle, for establishing firm electrical contact engagement with a circuit wire coupled therewith, said last named means comprising a split'tube, and said .split tube being conical in form. V

'3. A contact receptacle for use in connection with printed circuit connectors, said receptacle comprising an elongated body of insulating material, the body having longitudinally spaced opposed chambers opening through upper and lower surfaces of said body, the chambers beingdivided longitudinally of the receptacle by longitudinally spaced ribs, the chambers, at the'upper portion of the receptacle, being divided by a longitudinal channel, into which a printed circuit connector is adapted to be placed, the lower portion of the chambers being divided by a partition wall terminating at its upper end in an enlarged wall portion disposed centrally of the receptacle, said enlarged wall portion forming upper and lower stop shoulders exposed to opposed chambers of the receptacle,

means comprising a split tube, said split tube being conical in 'form, said split tube having a yieldablecatch for engaging the lower shoulder of the central wall to retain the spring contact against displacement from the receptacle in one direction, and a pair of arms on thecentral portion of the contacts engaging the upper shoulder of the central wall in retaining the contacts against displacement from the receptacle in the opposite direction.

4, A contact receptacle for use in connection with printed circuit connectors, said receptacle comprising an elongated body of insulating material, the body having longitudinally spaced opposed chambers opening through upper and lower surfaces of said body, the chambers being divided longitudinally of the receptacle by longitudinally spaced ribs, the chambers, at the upper portion of the receptacle, being divided by a longitudinal channel, into which a printed circuit connector is adapted to be placed, the lower portion' of the chambers being divided by a partition wall terminating at its upper end in an enlarged wall portion disposed centrally of the receptacle, said enlarged wall portion forming upper and lower stop shoulders exposedto opposed chambers of the receptacle, spring contacts adapted to be mounted in said chambers, said contacts having spring contact ends'extending into the channel at the upper portion of the receptacle, that part of the contact disposed in the lower portion of the chamber having means within boundaries of the receptacle, for establishing firm electrical contact engagement with a circuit wire coupled therewith, said last named meanscomprising a split tube, said split tube being conical in form, said split tube having a yieldablecatch for engaging the lower shoulder of the central wall to retain the spring contact against displacement from the receptacle in one direction, a pair of arms on the central portion of the contacts engaging the upper shoulder of the central wall in retaining the contacts against displacement from the receptacle in the opposite direction, and the diameter of the split tube portion being such as to facilitate insertion and removal longitudinally spaced opposed chambers opening through upper and lower surfaces of said body, the chambers being divided longitudinally of the receptacle by longitudinally spaced ribs, the chambers, at the upper portion of the receptacle, being divided by a longitudinal channel, into which a printed circuit connector is adapted to beplaced, the lower portion of the chambers being divided by a partition wall terminating at its upper end in an enlarged wall portion disposed centrally of the receptacle, said enlarged wall portion forming upper and lower stop shoulders exposed to opposed chambers of the receptacle, spring contacts adapted to be mounted in said chambers, said contacts having spring contact ends extending into the channel at the upper portion of the receptacle, that part of the contact disposed in the lower porthe receptacle in one direction, a pair of arms on the,

central portion of the contacts engaging the upper shoulder of the central wall in retaining the contacts against displacement from the receptacle in the opposite direction, the diameter of the split tube portion being such as to facilitate insertion and removal of the spring contact with respect to a chamber of the receptacle, and the lower portion of each chamber being suficiently large to receive a tool to force the spring catch into inoperative position with respect to its engaged shoulder in removal of the contact from the receptacle.

6. A contact receptacle for use in connection with printed circuit connectors, said receptacle comprising an elongated body of insulating material, the body having longitudinally spaced opposed chambers opening through upper and lower surfaces of said body, the chambers being divided longitudinally of the receptacle by longitudinally spaced ribs, the chambers, at the upper portion of the receptacle, being divided by a longitudinal channel, into which a printed circuit connector is adapted to be placed, the lower portion of the chambers being divided by a partition wall terminating at its upper end in an enlarged wall portion disposed centrally of the receptacle, said enlarged wall portion forming upper and lower stop shoulders exposed to opposed chambers of the receptacle, spring contacts adapted to be mounted in said chambers, said contacts having spring contact ends extending into the channel at the upper portion of the receptacle, that part of the contact disposed in the lower portion of the chamber having means within boundaries of the receptacle, for establishing firm electrical contact engagement with a circuit wire coupled therewith, said last named means comprising a split tube, said split tube 6 being conical in form, said split tube having a yieldable catch for engaging the lower shoulder of the central wall to retain the spring contact against displacement from "the receptacle in one direction, a pair of arms on the central portion of the contacts engaging the upper shoulder of the central wall in retaining the contacts against displacement from thereceptacle in the opposite direction, the diameter of the split tube portion being such as to facilitate insertion and removal of the spring contact ,with respect to a chamber or the receptacle, the lower portion of each chamber being sufficiently large to receive a tool to force the spring catch into inoperative position with respect to its engaged shoulder in removal of the contact from the receptacle, and that part of the spring contacts extending into the channel of the receptacle being rounded. i

7. A contact receptacle for use in connection with printed circuit connectors, said receptacle comprising an elongated body of insulating material, the body having longitudinally alined and spaced opposed chambers extending through the receptacle and opening through upper and lower surfaces of said body, the chambers being divided longitudinally by longitudinally spaced ribs, the chambers, at the upper portion of the receptacle, being divided by a longitudinal channel exposed to all of said upper chambers, into which a printed circuit connector is adapted to be placed, the lower portion of the chambers being divided by a partition wall extending to the bottom of the receptacle and terminating at its upper end in an enlarged wall portion disposed centrally of the receptacle, thereby forming upper and lower chambers of substantially the same depth, said enlarged Wall portion forming upper and lower stop shoulders exposed to the upper and lower chambers of the receptacle and spaced from outer walls of said chambers, spring contacts adapted to be mounted in said chambers, said contacts having spring contact ends extending into said channel, means, including a yieldable catch, for engaging the shoulders of said enlarged wall portion to retain the spring contacts against displacement from the receptacle, and that part of the contact, disposed in the lower portion of the chamber, having means within boundaries of the receptacle, of which said yieldable catch constitutes a part, for establishing firm electrical contact engagement with a circuit wire coupled therewith.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,747,896 Gates Feb. 18, 1930 2,352,618' Daenz July 4, 1944 2,460,231 Matthysse Jan. 25, 1949 2,658,183 Klostermann et al Nov. 3, 1953 2,699,534 Klostermann Jan. 11, 1955 2,765,450 Richardson Oct. 2, 1956 2,779,007 Cunningham Jan. 22, 1957 2,853,689 Jackson et' a1. Sept. 23, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 595,220 Great Britain Nov. 28, 1947 

